The comeback kid

Writer/director Richard Shepard got his Hollywood shot with 1991's "The Linguini Incident."

Swing ... and a miss. Big time.

That colossal dud chased Shepard from Hollywood. He licked his wounds for years, working mostly on straight-to-cable fare until he got his second chance.

That happened with 2005's "The Matador," a quirky, lovable hit man comedy starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.

Shepard's follow-up, "The Hunting Party," got ransacked by most critics - unfairly, I believe. It hits DVD shelves this week.

Even detractors could feast on Richard Gere's strong performance as a scorned reporter looking for redemption. The film is loosely based on true events, which makes the story all the juicier.

(Photo: Richard Gere and Terrence Howard are on the prowl for a war criminal in "The Hunting Party" - photo credit: Karen Ballard)